Strictly Experimental
by Wench of Hogsmead
Summary: Hermione discovers that Ron is a bad kisser…she turns to Harry for help. Of coarse, this is for “comparison sake” only… right? HHr
1. Chapter 1

Hermione had a serious problem on her hands, one that involved her supposedly new boyfriend, Ronald Weasley. Since this problem included one of her two best friends, she turned to the other, Harry Potter, for answers. She found him in the bedroom that he and Ron share at Grimauld Place. He was currently curled up beside the bed on the floor, staring out of the dusty window. She circled the foot of the bed to find him with his knees pulled up to his chest, and his chin resting over them. He had yet to notice her presence, as she had entered the room silently and shut the door behind her.

"Harry? Can I talk to you for a moment?"

She observed that he looked startled to see her and he quickly wiped his eyes. 'He must have been crying,' she thought. She figured it was about Sirius, as he is still in morning. Hermione felt horrible for burdening Harry with her girly problem when he had so many of his own, but she needed advice, and fast.

"Sure Hermione, I was just…"

"It's okay, I just need to ask you something."

Harry moved a little to make room for her, so she sat down on the floor beside him and leaned her back against the bed. She noted that this was not the most comfortable position to be in and wondered why he was sitting there. Her question was answered when she saw that from this angle he had a perfect view of the cloud-covered sky.

"Well, see, Ron and I… well, he told me that he liked me a little before you came to stay here. And I said that I liked him too, so… we're… you know."

"That's great Hermione! I was wondering when you two would get together. You have both been acting like a married couple for years."

Hermione blushed a little, partially from embarrassment and partially from aggravation.

"It's not so great Harry. I really do like Ron. I even like when we argue... it's sort of, well, fun. Everything was fine until two days ago…"

Harry looked at her intently. "What did he do? What happened?"

Hermione noticed that he had a very protective, determined look on his face. His look clearly said 'If Ron hurt you I'll kill him.'

"Nothing bad really. It's just that… he kissed me."

"That's it? That's all he did? What's wrong with that?"

She took a deep breath to try and calm herself, but she blushed even further.

"I didn't feel ANYTHING! No spark, no comfort, no enjoyment. It was so boring! It was just…WRONG!"

Harry stared at her, and felt a little uncomfortable with the conversation topic. He tried to speak in Ron's defense.

"Well, you know Hermione…Ron doesn't have any experience with girls. Neither do I. I mean, my first… and last kiss with Cho wasn't very pleasant. I didn't know what to do. Maybe Ron just needs you to show him. It's hard to be around a girl you like, you know… you're always afraid you'll mess up. Just give him a little time, it'll get better."

Hermione threw her arms up and gave a very Hermione-like exasperated sigh and an "urgh!"

"But I've tried! We were snogging… I thought he was trying to clean my teeth with his tongue! So I tried to direct him, show him what to do… and he followed what I was suggesting well enough… but I still felt nothing!"

Now Harry was the one blushing, and disturbed. He really didn't want to hear the details of his two best friends snogging… especially when one was bad at it.

"So… um… what do you plan on doing about it?"

"I don't know. I'm just confused. I really can't say anything to him now can I? That's why I came to you. I don't really expect you to give me advice, but you're the only other person I could really talk to about this."

"Well, why didn't you just go to Ginny?"

Hermione had thought of that, but thought better of it considering it was her brother she was talking about. And Ginny can't really keep her mouth shut that well.

"Ginny is a blabber mouth. And she would probably use the fact that Ron is a bad kisser as blackmail and a reason to tease him."

Harry understood that. Ron had always tortured Ginny with teasing, being that she was the youngest. Ginny would jump at the chance to get back at her brother.

"Hermione, you know I'll always listen… but I don't really want to here you talk about how my best mate can't kiss. I'm horrible at it myself! How can I sit here with you and judge him?"

"But Harry that's the whole PROBLEM! I've never kissed anyone else… so how do I now if he's good or bad when I have nothing to compare him too? Maybe something is wrong with me… or maybe we just aren't chemically compatible? Maybe my expectations are too high. Or maybe he's just a bad kisser! I have no idea!"

Hermione interrupted Harry before he could say anything… not that he really knew what to say.

"And how can you say you're a horrible kisser? Cho just kissed you out of nowhere! And that wasn't snogging or anything, that was just a little peck on the lips that was… wet did you say?"

"Er… yeah, she was crying. Well it doesn't matter! I'm probably horrible at it anyway. Every time I'm around a girl I get all nervous and… just… stupid."

Hermione considered him for a moment.

"You don't get nervous around me though. I'm a girl."

"No your not."

"What!" Hermione looked outraged, but Harry was quick to recover the statement.

"That's not what I meant! I mean… you're a girl… you're just not a GIRL girl… you know? I mean… I don't think of you like that. You're my friend. Like Ron. Just… a female. Don't hurt me."

He put his hands up in a defensive motion and Hermione chuckled at his antics.

"It's okay Harry, I forgive you."

"Wooh, dogged that one!" He said, wiping his arm across his forehead in a dramatic gesture. He smirked and stared out the window when he heard her laugh.

Suddenly, she went quite. Her eyes lit up like they did when she got a 'brilliant plan.'

"What are you thinking?"

"I just got a brilliant plan." Figures…

"Which would be…?"

"Okay, just hear me out. I need to find out if Ron is just a bad kisser or I'm expecting too much from him. But I have no one to compare him to. And you want to find out if you're a good kisser or not but you have no one to kiss…"

"No."

"So we should…"

"No! I'm not doing it! You're mental!"

Hermione looked at him a bit perplexed but still excited over her new revelation.

"Why not? It's perfect! You don't even think of me as a girl! You said it yourself. And I only think of you as a friend, so it's not like I'm cheating on him or anything!"

"Yes it is Hermione! You really expect me to go behind Ron's back and snog his girlfriend so she can see whether or not she wants to break up with him! No! That's betrayal! I wouldn't do that to him!"

"Harry, I have to know! And if you don't… then I'm just going to have to find someone else who will."

Hermione got up to leave, but Harry pulled her back down quickly.

"I can't believe you! Now you want me to sit quiet when I know my best mate's girlfriend is off snogging someone else! How can you put me in that situation! I can't…"

Harry was cut of by Hermione's lip touching his quickly before pulling away. 'That wasn't so bad...'

"Did you feel anything?"

Harry stared at her for a moment.

"Um, no. Did you?"

"Nope, not a thing. But that was rather quick. How about this?"

Hermione touched her lips to his once more… softly. His bottom lip was gently nuzzling hers. 'This is nice… really nice… too nice.' Harry ended the kiss.

"Well?" Hermione asked.

"Um, it was defiantly better than Cho." Harry blushed, as did Hermione.

"It was better than Ron as well."

"Really?"

"Yeah, he puckers his lips so much I feel like I'm kissing a fish. That was much better."

"Shit." Harry put arm up so that the elbow rested on his knee and his hand was rubbing his temples. "I just kissed my best friend's girlfriend… and she liked it… shit."

"Harry, stop that! This is strictly for comparison sake, not for pleasure. We will do this in a very experimental manner, and then we'll assess the results. Alright?"

"I still don't like this."

"Oh, don't be a baby."

Hermione latched onto his lips before he could protest. She reached behind his head with one arm to tangle her fingers in his hair (which she had secretly always wanted to do) and used her other hand to remove his glasses then rest it on his chest. He positioned his hands on her shoulder and back, in very safe positions of coarse. Harry was determined to enjoy this as little as possible. He tried to ignore the fact that her lips were very, very soft and very persistent. He thought he was doing very well in keeping this "strictly experimental." That is, until he felt her suck on his top lip, then her tongue gliding along the bottom one…


	2. Chapter 2

Harry decided that his mind had officially lost all coherent thought. Having little experience with girls, this was an entirely new feeling… one which he would probably regret having. He tried to remember whose tongue was currently trying to pry it's way into his closed mouth, but he simple couldn't. Hermione was becoming a bit impatient. She dug hands further into his hair and pulled back not so gently. This sudden jolt caused him to open his mouth just enough for Hermione to rise up on her knees and plunge into it.

Their position on the floor was still awkward and uncomfortable, so Hermione was trying to balance herself at this new "dominant" angle by putting her weight on one knee. Harry noticed her discomfort and instability. Being the gentlemen that he was, he let one leg that was previously bent in front of him to fall to the side. He pulled her up by the waist to sit in between his one bent leg and on top of the other thigh.

Hermione was beginning to loose rational thought as well, and mentally berated herself for it.

'Okay, let's focus. This is just like recording the results of an experiment. I have to take mental notes. Okay, Harry is defiantly better at closed-mouth kissing. His lips are more relaxed than Ron's, and he tilts his head at a more comfortable angle. His mouth feels better. It's warmer, and not to…uh, slimy. He doesn't slobber… okay. This is good. This is much better, even though he's not really responding all that well… okay, he's less tense now, and at least he's moving his tongue a little.'

In the meantime, Harry's thoughts had went from 'I shouldn't be doing this' to '……..'

His hands were still gripping her hips. He pulled her down so that her head rested on his shoulder and he had better access to her mouth. Being the Parselmouth he is, he literally snaked his tongue into her mouth. He slithered it up and down the sides of her tongue while gently nibbling her bottom lip with his teeth.

Hermione was in absolute ecstasy. While Harry believed he was merely "slithering," the small vibrations emanating from the subtle hissing sounds were coursing through her entire body. She moaned into his mouth, a bit louder than she should have, and bucked her hips. She couldn't seem to sit still, as there was no outlet for her pleasure.

Harry pulled her hips closer to his, but was mindful not to come in direct contact with her. He was fully excited, painfully, but his subconscious told him to keep his distance while his body was screaming in protest. He settled for moving his leg so that her legs were straddling his thigh. At least that was a bit safer, with little direct sexual contact.

His pathetic excuse for mental note-taking was 'Okay, she likes… she's moaning… oh god… slither more… she's grinding my thigh… oh… um… slither more… bite… suck…slither… more moaning… was that her or me?'

Hermione's hands were still wound in his hair. She was desperately trying to pull him closer. Those vibrations were driving her crazy! They seemed to be traveling directly from her mouth down to where she was currently grinding herself onto Harry's thigh. She lost control when Harry discovered a new way to make her moan, even more loudly. He used the same slithering motion, but twisted his tongue in and out of her mouth quickly and sensually. It traveled from back to tip, rubbing and tickling, in and out. It was so suggestive, so full of raw passion that Hermione had quite literally exploded. Yep, all over Harry's pant leg.

Harry was at a loss of what to do. He was kissing her, she was moaning, breathing heavy, grinding, then all of a sudden she clamped her legs together, broke the kiss, and let out a throaty scream. Now she was panting heavily, hiding her face, holding onto him, and his leg was all wet. He decided to voice his confusion.

"What just…? Did…did you just…?"

"Yes."

Hermione couldn't say anything more. She just came all over her best friend, while she was supposed to be dating her other best friend. She was so embarrassed! But it wasn't entirely her fault right? Who has an orgasm from just kissing? 'Apparently me…' she thought weekly. 'He was soooo…ugh!'

Harry gulped. He was extremely startled, and worried. He was also painfully aware of his aching erection. Hermione still had her face covered. She was too afraid to look at him. She really felt like crying. She just had the best, and most unexpected experience of her life. It felt so right, but it was really, really wrong.

"Um, I… I have to go…"

Hermione looked heartbroken. 'Oh no! I scared him. He'll never speak to me again… I just ruined our friendship!'

"Harry wait, please. I'm so sorry, it just happened! I didn't plan… or mean to…"

Harry was shocked at the outburst, especially when she began crying.

"No! Hermione no, that's not it! I'll be back, I just, I have to… um."

Harry glanced down at himself. Hermione, for the first time became aware that he was sporting a rather impressively large tent, and his whole thigh was sopping wet.

"Oh! Oh, I'm sorry. uh…"

Hermione just turned her head while Harry headed off to the bathroom. 'Poor Harry, that must have been so painful… I can't believe this!"

She tried to wipe her eyes before any tears could fall. 'Oh no. What time is it?' Hermione glanced at the clock on the wall. It was 10:34. Everyone would be back by 11:30, so she at least had an hour to get cleaned up. The Mrs. Weasley took Ron and Ginny to Diagon Alley for school supplies. Order members were always popping in and out of the house, but no on bothered Harry seeing as he was understandably rather anti-social this summer.

'Hold on, I came up here after brunch. That was at 9:30. We talked for at least ten minutes. So… we were snogging for over twenty minutes? No wonder he just ran to the bathroom! Oh, I'm such a bitch!'

Hermione buried her face in her hands. Her brilliant plan turned out to be so bloody stupid!


	3. Chapter 3

Strictly Experimental Ch3

Hermione crouched down and let the rain-simulating magical shower beet down on her back. She just knew things were going to get awkward between Harry and her, they already were! She had passed him in the hallway on the way to the bathroom, and he couldn't even look at her. Not that she was looking at him… of coarse not.

'Oh, what have I gotten myself into? How am I going to act around Ron? How will Harry act around Ron? What if he tells? He can't! I can't! I… I need help. Psychiatric help. But I can't tell anybody! What am I going to do?' Hermione was, yet again, attempting not to cry. She settled instead for pulling at her hair. She heard a tentative knock at the door.

"Hermione? Are you okay?"

'… Oh god. Harry. He probably wants to… TALK!' She suppressed the small voice in her head that was saying 'Aww he's so sweet! He's concerned for me!'

"Uh, yeah I'm fine. I'll be right out."

She grabbed her towel and realized with panic that she had forgotten to bring a change of cloths. Her others were… soiled. 'I can't go out there with a towel on! What will he think?

She hastily grabbed a towel off of the rack and wrapped it around her torso. She opened the door slightly and peaked her head through the crack.

"Um… could you go in Ron's room for a minute?"

"Why?"

"I… uh… I need to get my clothes out of Ginny's room…" said Hermione as she nervously looked down at the floor.

"Oh, okay." Harry scratched the back of his neck. "I'll just… go and wait downstairs then…"

He quickly retreated, beat-red with embarrassment.

Hermione met him in the kitchen a short time after changing her attire to the most conservative thing she could find. Harry had set out two drinks for them, and firmly set his gaze on the wooden table. Hermione took a seat and thanked him.

"Look," Harry began nervously. "I think we should…"

Just then the fireplace lit up and a very worn Mrs. Weasley stepped out of the green flames.

"Harry dear! Have you already eaten?"

Mrs. Weasley dusted some soot off of her robes. Ginny and Ron followed her, leaving a trail of dirt on the floor.

Hermione and Harry, who were drinking some sort of magical citrus drink that's taste was virtually unidentifiable, appeared extremely grateful for the interruption.

"Not yet. How was Diagon Alley?"

Ron made his way over to Hermione and put his hand on her shoulder.

"It was kinda boring mate. Probably not as boring as it was here though."

Hermione gave Harry a nervous glance while Harry was straining not to smile.

Ron took a seat next to Hermione, and leaned over to give her a quick kiss on the cheek. Hermione was failing in her attempt to remain casual while deliberately not looking him in the eye. She spared a glance at Harry, who was looking down at his drink as if it were some fascinating artifact. 'He looks as uncomfortable as I feel,' Hermione mused. She was so absorbed in thought that she didn't notice that Ginny was giving her a critical and curious gaze. She took a seat next to Harry as Mrs.Weasley floated lunch onto the table.

"Tuck in dears!"

Everyone began eating at once. They were all famished due to some tiresome activity or other that day. Ginny decided to break what appeared to be a comfortable silence.

"Hermione… did you… change clothes since this morning?"

Hermione abruptly began choking on a piece of toast. Ron patted her on the back, encouraging her to breath properly.

"I… um…"

"Genius over their spilled butterbeer all over her shirt," Harry said as comically as possible, considering that he had just made the lie up off the top of his head. Hermione wore a look of reproach, but her eyes were clearly shining with gratitude.

Ginny seemed satisfied with the answer, while Ron found the thought of Hermione the "genius" spilling something extremely funny.

Mrs. Weasley gave Hermione a kind smile.

"Not to worry dear. I can have that stain out in an instant! Just bring the shirt down after lunch."

Hermione's face had completely lost its color. She thanked Mrs.Weasley, but it didn't help that there WASN'T a shirt with a butterbeer stain! Harry caught her eye. He seemed to understand her panic. He gave her a short smile that seemed to say 'don't worry about it.'

Hermione trusted him, so she ate her meal without choking on anything else.

After lunch, Mrs. Weasley reminded her to get the shirt. Hermione nodded, and walked up the stairs as slowly as possible. She went into Ginny's room and opened her trunk. She had shoved the soiled skirt into the bottom of the trunk, and wrapped it in a spare bit of parchment. Hermione grabbed the shirt she had been wearing earlier out of the laundry pile. She looked at the stainless fabric in exasperation. She let out a heavy sigh.

"Urg! Harry, why couldn't you have said I spilt butterbeer on my SKIRT?"

"I didn't think of it."

Hermione swung around, not expecting to see Harry standing behind her, looking sheepish and holding a glass of butterbeer in his hand.

Hermione hastily took the glass and poured half of it down the front of the shirt. She shook it a little to make it appear more damp than wet.

"Thank you so much Harry! You really saved me back there… and just now!"

Hermione was indeed grateful, and suppressed the urge to kiss him… a bit more passionately than she would have desired before that morning.

Harry scratched the back of his neck, still refusing to look her in the eye.

"Yeah, well, no problem. You should probably get downstairs now… but we have to talk later… okay?" Harry still looked very awkward and unsure. Hermione thought that it did not at all compliment his attitude earlier that afternoon.

"Yeah, okay."

Hermione was dreading this conversation, but tried not to show it.

"Yeah…" Harry exited the room, and drank the rest of the butterbeer in one large gulp.

After she gave Mrs.Weasley the shirt, Hermione stood at the bottom of the stairs, wondering whether she should speak to Harry before or after dinner… and when would be the most convenient time for them to speak alone.

Before she could muse on the thought of Harry and her being alone once more, she felt a hand slide up her arm. Ron turned her around enough to give her a quick kiss on the lips.

"Did you miss me today," Ron said in a voice that was a pathetic excuse for sultriness.

Hermione tried desperately not to role her eyes.

"Uh, yeah."

Ron smile and leaned in to kiss her more deeply… beginning with the same unpleasant "fish lips."

Hermione now realized that her "experiment" was a horrible, ghastly mistake. Now, she not only realized how bad of a kisser Ron is compared to Harry, but the experience was actually… nauseating! He FINALLY stopped kissing her, looking so pleased with himself that he missed the look of utter disappointment on his girlfriend's face.

Hermione gave Ron a friendly hug. He returned it, probably thinking it was some sort of "passionate embrace" while Hermione was simply trying to escape having to kiss him again.

'I wish this were Harry,' she thought, and glanced up the stairs as if hoping to she him through the ceiling. She needn't worry about seeing through walls, however, for he was standing at the top of the stairs, looking at her intently with an emotionless mask. Hermione hid her gasp, and tried not to run after him as he slowly turned and walked back to his bedroom.

She contemplated the fastest way to get away from Ron and get to Harry without seeming suspicious. She pulled away from him and opened her mouth to voice a hasty excuse.

Ron silenced her and smiled.

"It's okay. I know what you're going to say. I think we should take the next step in our relationship too…"


	4. Chapter 4

Strictly Experimental Ch4

"Hermione?"

Hermione was staring at him with a wide-eyed expression that he could not seem to interpret.

Was she shocked that he could have known what she was thinking? Was he wrong? Was she just nervous? Ron was becoming increasingly unsure of himself with every passing moment of her silence.

'He cannot be this stupid. He absolutely cannot possibly be this thick!'

"Hermione… say something!" Ron gave her an utterly heart-breaking-lost-puppy-look that was making it impossible for her to be mad at him. She was beginning to panic.

"I… I… Ron, I…" Hermione tried to compose herself. She needed to either reassure him or break up with him. She was finding both options impossible.

"Hermione, please say something." He was begging. He was positively whining. She didn't know whether to find this endearing or pathetic.

"Ron. I… I need to use the bathroom."

Hermione broke free of his gentle hold and ran up the stairs as fast as she could.

Ron stared unblinkingly where she had previously stood in his arms.

'What. Just. Happened?'

Hermione ran directly to Harry's room. She did not know what possessed her to do so, she just needed to be around him.

She found him lying on his back, staring at the ceiling over his bed. His arms were folded behind his head, he was breathing slowly and evenly, and his face held no readable expression.

"Harry?" Hermione asked tentatively. He didn't answer her. She rushed into the room anyway and sat on the edge of his bed.

"Harry please. I really need to talk to you." 'Wonderful,' she thought. 'I sound about as pathetic as Ron.'

"I'm sure you do," he said blankly.

"Harry? Don't be mad at me. I just…"

"Mad? Why should I be mad? Look Hermione... I'm not your boyfriend, Ron is. And I'm certainly not your girlfriend. I really don't want to talk about your relationship problems so you can save that for Ginny. I'm your friend, and friends aren't suppose to… to do what we did this afternoon. So just… just stop… Oh don't… don't cry! Please don't cry I'm sorry! I just meant to say… well…"

Hermione couldn't help herself. She couldn't stand to loose Harry as a friend. She already knew she had messed things up between them. She couldn't loose both of her boys in the same day. 'I have to fix this somehow. But first I have to stop crying like a pathetic little first year.'

He knew he shouldn't do it, but Harry couldn't bear to see a girl cry, especially not Hermione. He wrapped a hand on her arm and pulled her to him. She impulsively rested on his shoulder as he cradled her head under his chin and patted her back. Harry wasn't exactly sure how to comfort someone, since he never really experienced it himself. He was going by pure instinct. Perhaps instinct could also be blamed for why he titled her head up and began softly kissing around her eyes and her cheeks, though he was still slightly in control of himself and was careful to avoid her lips.

Hermione's mind again went blank under his gentle ministrations. The 'I shouldn't be doing this' was pushed so far back in her conscious that she found herself snuggling up to Harry like a child desperately seeking a mother's attention. As he placed one of many soft kisses on her cheek she moved her head to capture his lips. I wasn't at all like the afternoon. There was no awkwardness, no guilt, and no passion. It was a simple, light, consoling kiss between two people who truly cared for one another.

They pulled apart gently and looked in each other's eyes without shame (for the first time that day). Hermione broke the gaze and looked down at the floor. She had to explain herself.

"Look… Harry I know your not my girlfriend. I mean I do save the girly stuff for Ginny. I think you'd go mental if I started talking to you about my…"

"Please. Don't finish that."

Hermione gave him a reproachful look, but was glad to see he was joking with her again.

"I know Ron's my, my boyfriend. But I'm not so sure I'm happy about that part. I thought I was, but…"

"Do not break up with him because of me. Don't you dare!" Harry realized he had said that a bit too loudly. Hermione was giving him a look as if he'd just slapped her on the wrist. He tried desperately to articulate what he was thinking without sounding cruel, but it didn't seem to be working.

"Hermione, in case you haven't noticed I have enough drama in my life right now and I don't need yours on top of it. I can't deal with loosing you or Ron right now. Okay? I've lost enough people I care about."

At this thought it was Harry's eyes that began welling up. Hermione again felt as if she'd been slapped, though this time it was more like she slapped _herself_ in the face… repeatedly. 'Of course he doesn't need me to push all this nonsense on him. He just lost Sirius, now I'm jeopardizing all our friendships. I'm so… wait... how many times have I called myself stupid today?'

"Oh Harry… I'm so sorry."

Hermione leaned in to hug him, and Harry was ready to welcome the embrace, despite his mind being in 'crawl in a dark hole and die' state. They heard heavy footsteps trampling up the stairs toward the door.

"I'm supposed to be in the bathroom," Hermione said in a panicked whisper.

She ducked down to the floor and rolled under Harry's bed where a multi-colored thickly knit woolen blanket covered her from plain sight. Ron entered the room in an angry daze. He closed the door behind him and looked at Harry expectantly.

"Well?" Ron said impatiently.

"Well what?" Harry replied confusedly, not sure what Ron was searching for and silently begging whichever god that had forsaken him to come back and make sure Ron didn't discover his girlfriend hiding under Harry's bed.

"Well, aren't you going to ask me what happened?" Ron said angrily, taking a seat on his own bed.

At this point Harry sat up attentively. 'I didn't give Hermione a chance to say what she wanted to talk about. I wonder what did happen between them. It couldn't have been bad. They looked friendly enough.' Harry tried to repress the sick feeling in his stomach when he thought of the two of them hugging.

"Oh, sorry mate. What happened to get you so riled up?"

Ron threw his hands up in the air. "Hermione happened! I swear Harry, you are so lucky to not be involved with anyone. Women are completely mental!"

'Yeah, lucky,' Harry tried to repress the smirk forming on his mouth, and instead silently urged Ron to continue.

"So there we were at the bottom of the stairs, I kissed her and we snogged a bit… then she gave me this hug, you know? Like not a _normal_ hug. It was a bit…_suggestive_, you know?"

'Yeah. I know. Shut up,' Harry thought angrily. He suppressed the urge to grind his teeth.

Meanwhile Hermione was under the bed contemplating how Ron could mistaken a "don't kiss me" hug for a "kiss me more" hug.

'Suggestive!?! Honestly! I've never done anything even remotely suggestive to him! Oh Harry, please, please don't believe him!'

"So then she went to say something, but I figured that she wanted to… you know… take things a bit further with our relationship. So I…"

"What the bloody hell did you do to her?" Harry was about to kill Ron. 'If this is why she came in to talk to me and I pushed her away I'll never forgive myself.'

"Whoa, settle down Harry! I don't DO anything! I just said it, and she just stopped talking. I mean I figured that's what she meant, you know? We've been together for a while now, so wouldn't you expect a girl to…"

"I wouldn't EXPECT Hermione to have to do anything. You probably scared her you prat! Hermione's not like other girls. You know she's not!" Harry was truly disgusted with Ron at that point. He knew Hermione wasn't the type to be pressured into anything. Besides, she's always been more mental than physical in any sort of relationship. 'Well, except this afternoon… and just now.'

"Will you calm down. I came in here expecting a little sympathy! Us blokes are supposed to stick together with this stuff!" Ron was looking at Harry like he had been betrayed. That was exactly the look Harry feared if Ron ever found out what he had done. Perhaps that's why he calmed down… he owed Ron something he could never give him. He owed him the truth.

"You're right Ron," Harry sighed.

'What?' Hermione thought from under his bed.

"I'm sorry. I guess I'm just a little overprotective, you know, cause it's Hermione. I'm still getting used to the idea of you two being more than friends. I'm happy for you and all (he had to choke that statement out) but I just don't want anything to come between all of us staying friends."

Ron looked a bit ashamed of himself. "Yeah. I guess you're right. I was a bit of a prat."

'Damn right you were,' both Harry and Hermione thought.

"So what do you reckon I should do about it?"

'Why do they keep coming to ME for advice!' Harry thought rather pathetically.

"When she comes out of the bathroom, apologize to her for rushing things. Tell her you're a prat and you're sorry. Maybe…maybe you should go downstairs and make her something to drink. You know… as a peace offering. I'll tell her you're waiting for her downstairs."

"Yeah, I guess your right. Thanks mate," said Ron as he made his way to the door.

Hermione readied herself to climb out from under the bed as soon as he left the room. Harry let out a large sigh. He couldn't believe they were in the clear.

"Hang on," said Ron, his hand still on the doorknob.

"How did you know Hermione was in the bathroom?"


End file.
